Big brother Tom Sullivan mentions that I'm making the case that initiatives such as Meaningful Use and ICD-10 could coincide. That could mean that the money invested in one could help you comply with the other. In the healthcare industry, there is a lot of doubt and hope regarding the possibility. If the issue gets resolved soon, I don't know what we will have to write about. (Government Health IT)

Not to beat a dead horse (Is there an ICD-10 code for that?), but Perficient explains the benefits of implementing all three of these iniatives/mandates in a white paper. Which I couldn't download because of a strange error message on their website. Hopefully I can read it soon. (Perficient Healthcare)

There's a lot of talk about how complicated ICD-10 coding is. To find out, I consulted a Canadian neurosurgeon and asked her if ICD-10 coding is like brain surgery. All kidding aside, her real-world perspective is very interesting. (ICD10 Watch)

IT Governance

I spent some time talking to Susan Haseley, a managing director and global healthcare leader at Protiviti, about what is IT governance and how it applies to ICD-10 implementation:

Melanie Endicott, manager of professional practice resources at the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA), offers some tips for creating a successful ICD-10 transition. (Healthcare IT News)

E-NEWSLETTER SUBSCRIPTION

Featured contributors

Carl Natale

Carl Natale, Editor at ICD10 Watch, has been writing professionally for eighteen years. He has covered the transition of medical coding systems for four years. Follow Carl on Twitter @ICD10Watcher

Henry Powderly

Editor-in-Chief

Henry Powderly is the Editor-in-Chief of Healthcare Finance News and moderator of the Revenue Cycle Solutions Summit. He has more than a decade of experience in online journalism. Previously, he was the online business editor for Newsday.com, covering the metro-New York area. He also was a senior regional editor for AOL's Patch.com, a network of local news sites. Henry has also spent many years as a professor for the Center for News Literacy.

Tom Sullivan

Executive Editor, HIMSS Media

As Executive Editor of HIMSS Media, Tom Sullivan oversees mHealth News and Medical Practice Insider. He also writes the Innovation Pulse column in Healthcare IT News. Prior to HIMSS Media, Tom was News Editor of IDG's InfoWorld. He is a Neal finalist and multiple ASBPE award-winner whose work has appeared on CNN, The New York Times, The Washington Post and Computerworld.

Featured resources

Clinical documentation improvement (CDI) is crucial to ICD-10 readiness. Current issues with ICD-9 in documentation will persist with ICD-10. Taking an advanced approach to CDI now that accounts for all lengths of stay, all payers, and all care settings can make all the difference. This infographic shows you advanced CDI at a glance.

Medicare rules for medical necessity, called Local and National Coverage Determinations (LCDs and NCDs), currently account for as many as 500,000 ICD-9 and HCPCS/CPT code pairs. The number of code pairs will increase under ICD-10. The good news is that ICD-10 policies and edits can be included in your medical necessity content. This infographic provides an overview of the medical necessity issues you should be aware of as you transition to ICD-10.

3M's updated ICD-10 eGuide provides a high-level overview of steps hospitals can take now to ready their organizations for the transition from ICD-9 to ICD-10, including key success factors to gauge progress. This guide includes insights from 3M experts and clients on empowering your ICD-10 program, analyzing financial impact, and measuring success, plus videos, media links, checklists, and links to useful industry sites.